Multiple horse holder and releaser.



T. G. H. WEDGE. MULTIPLE HORSE HOLDER AND EELEASEE.

APPLICATION FILED O0T.2B. 1909.

Patented June 28, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THEODORE CHARLES HENRY WED GrE, OE INDIANAPOLIS, INDl'ANA.

MULTIPLE HORSE HOLDER AND EELEASER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 2S, 1909.

Patented June 28, 1910.

Serial No. 525,096.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEoDonn C. H. VEDGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of lndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Multiple Horse Holders and Releasers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to stables or barns in which horses may be kept, and has reference particularly to means whereby a number of horses may be hitched or held and all released either simultaneously or separately, as may be desired.

The object of the invention is improved apparatus for hitching or holdin@ horses, especially in liverystables anc whereby the animals may be released quickly, so that they may not perish in case of conflagration, a specific object being to provide apparatus of the above-mentioned character that will be adapted to be cheaply provided and erected, and which will be reliable, durable and economical in use.

lith the above-mentioned and minor objects in view the invention consists in certain improvements in the construction of stables or barns and also in the novel multiple holders and releasers, and in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter particularly described and then dened in the accompanying claims.

to provide Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a plan of the ground floor of a stable or barn equipped with the improvement; Fig. 2, a Yertical sectional elevation on the line A A in Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4, fragmentary sections on the line B B in Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a fragmentary elevation showing the improvement applied to a box-stall; Fig. 6, a fragmentary sectional elevation on the line C C in Fig. 1; Fig. 7, a fragmentary sectional elevation on the line D D in Fig. 1; Fig. 8, a top plan of one of the hitching devices on an ordinary stall manger; Fig. 9, a fragmentary front elevation of the manger having the bitching device thereon; Fig. 10, a sectional view on the line E E in Fig. 9; Fig. 11, a sectional view approximately on the line F F in Fig.

9; Fig. 12, a horizontal section on the line Gr G in Fig. 10; Fig. 13, a cross-section on the line H H in Fig. 12; Fig. 14, a top plan of the apparatus for fastening a box-stall door; and Fig. 15, a crosssection on the line T in Fig. 14.

Similar reference characters in the different figures of the drawings indicate like parts orfeatures of construction herein referred to.

In the drawings 1 and 2 indicate two opposite side walls, and 3 and 4 two opposite end walls of a stable or barn, 5 the floor, 6 the roof or the loft floor thereof. The stable has a number of barriers 7, 7 7, which with the walls and one side 8 of a box-stall constitute a number of ordinary stalls in which are mangers, as 9, 9, 9, one in each stall, and walls 10 and 10 extending from the side wall 8 to the end wall 4 of the stable form the fronts of two box-stalls between which is a partition 8, the fronts of the boxstalls being provided with doors 11 and 11. An oflice 12 is arranged conveniently to the stable in any suitable arrangement and it is designed to release the animals by means of operating devices located in the oiiice. rlhe box-stalls have a top rail 13 on the front walls thereof for supporting parts of the latching and releasing apparatus of the doors, there being door posts 14 as usual. A stable may, of course, be variously constructed and arranged with any desired number of stalls of either variety.

The improvement comprises a suitable number of anchor-plates, as 15, 15, 15, one anchor plate being secured on the top of the front of each manger. Each anchor plate has a guide 16 for supporting an operating 1od on the top thereof and also two upwardly and forwardly projecting ears 17 and 18 having apertures 17 and 18 therein respectively, the ear 18 having also a guideway 19 therein. A spring-arm 2O is secured to the anchor plate and extends across the outer ends of the guideway 19, and the aperture 18 and has a catchpin 21 secured thereto that extends vthrough and is movable in the guideway 19, so that when the springarm 2() bears against the ear 18 the catch-pin will extend substantially to the guide 16, there being a suitable space between the guide 16 and the ear 18 to receive a ring. The anchor plate is secured to the manger by a bolt 22 or otherwise, as may be desired. An anchor-plate 23 for each box-stall is secured on the top of the rail 13 by screws 23 48, another rod 53 being connected to the bell-crank 51 and to the operating rod 38. A guide pulley 54 is mounted on the wall 3 of the stable adjacent to the manger 9 and a cable 55 is connected to the rod 26 and eX- 70 tends under the guidepulley, being connected to a rod 56 that extends upward and is connected to a bell-crank 57 mounted on a wall 3, a horizontal rod 58 being connected to the bell crank and also to another bell crank 59 75 mounted in the oliice. A rod 60 is connected or as may be desired, and so as to be near the top of the swinging side of the door. Each anchor plate 23 has a guide 24 thereon and also a forwardly projecting ear 25.

An operating rod 26 is mounted slidingly in t-he guides 16 of all the anchor plates that are mounted on the mangers and has a suitable number of lock bolts 27 l'ixedly mounted thereon, one for each stall, each lock-bolt normally extending through the apertures in the ears 17 and 18 and having a shank 28 that is formed integral with a boss 29 which is secured adjustably to the rod 26 by a setscrew 30, the shank 28 normally engaging the ear 17, and a ring 31 is inserted between the ears 17 and 18 and normally hangs on the lock-bolt 27, the ring 31 having a relatively larger ring 32 connected thereto to which an animal may be tied, so as to permit of being released separately without operating the multiple releasing apparatus.

The hinges 33 of the doors of the boxstalls are provided with springs 34 so arranged that they shall open the doors when not secured in closed position, and each door may be temporarily held in closed position by a button 35 connected to the adjacent door post 14 by a pivot-pin 36, the button normally hanging on its pivot by the force of gravity and clear of the door, but may be kept in engagement with the front of the door by the pressure of the hinge springs. The top rail 13 of the box stalls is provided with a suitable number of guides 37 which support an operating rod 38 slidingly upon the rail, and the rod carries a suitable number of lock-bolts 39, one for each door, each lock-bolt having a shank 40 that is integral with a boss 41 which is secured adjustably to the rod 38 by a set-screw 42, the shank 40 normally engaging the ear 25. Each boX- stall door is provided with a latch 43 that is connected to the door by a pivot 44 and has an operating handle 45 to which is connected a spring 46 that is connected also to the door for normally holding the latch behind the lock-bolt 39, and it will be apparent that the latch of either door may be swung on its pivot from behind the lock-bolt to release the door without operating the multiple releasing apparatus, so that either box-stall may be opened at pleasure.

In order to connect the releasing apparat-us of the box-stall doors with the apparatus that is mounted on the mangers a guide-pulley 47 is suitably mounted adjacent to the wall 8 and manger 9, and a bell-crank 48 is mounted on the upper porto the bell-crank 59 and extends downward and is connected to a bell-crank 61 suitably mounted in the olice. A rod 62 is connected to the bell-crank 6l and also to a lever 63 80 that is mounted on a stand 64 having a notch 65 to receive a latch 66 that is mounted on the lever, so that all the releasing apparatus may be operated to release the animals by moving the lever in one direction to a position in which it may be latched, the lever being normally held in an op osite position and the locking bolts held in their normal position by means of an arm 67 that is secured adjustably by a set-screw 68 90 to the rod 38, and a spring 69 that is con nected to the arm and also to the wall 4 of the building, The stand 64 is provided with a stop-pin 70 to limit the movement of the lever 63 when releasing the animals so that 95 the locking bolts can not be withdrawn from their guide ears.

In practical use the lever 63 will stand substantially as illustrated in Fig. 6 and the lock-bolts 27 project through the ears 18 100 against the spring-arms 20, so as to hold the catch-pins 21 out of the way of the rings 31, the lock-bolts 39 projecting beyond the ears 25, so that they-may be engaged by the latches 43. Animals may then be tied to the rings 32 or untied, and the doors 11, 11', may be unlatched as will be apparent. In case of a conlagration the attendant or a night-watchman in the oice may quickly move the lever 63 over and latch it, which 110 will result in all of the lock-bolts 27 being withdrawn from the ears 18 until they do not project beyond the ears 17, so as to release the rings 31, and therefore unhitch the animals simultaneously and permit them to escape. The retraction of the lock-bolts 27 permits the spring-arms 20 to project the catch-pins 21 across to the guides 16. then the lever 63 is moved over it will be apparent that the lock-bolts 39 will also be 120 moved away from the fronts of the latches 43, so that the doors of the box-stalls may be swung open by their hinge springs. If it now be desired to return the animals they to the rod 26 and extends under the guidemay be taken into the stalls, and it will be 125 pulley 47 and is connected to a rod 50 which understood that the doors may be closed and is connected to the bell-crank, another belltemporarily fastened by the buttons 35. crank 51 being mounted adjacent to the The rings 31 may be connected to the catchrail 13 and having a rod 52 connected therepins 21 by withdrawing the catch-pins by to which is connected also to the bell crank means of the spring-arms, and then the rings movably in the ears thereof, each lock-bolt having an angular shank, an operating rod mounted movably in the guides and connected to all the shanlrs for retracting each one of the loch-bolts out of one of the plurality of ear-s of each anchor-plate, a plurality of rings to be hung on or released from the lock-bolts between two ears, and means for holding the rings temporarily while the lock-bolts are retracted. v

A multiple horse holder and releaser for a plurality of mangers, including a plurality of anchor-plates, one for each manger and secured to the top thereof and having each a movable catch device thereon, a plurality of rings each to be temporarily supported by one of the catch devices, a plurality of lock-bolts, one for each anchor-plate and mounted movably thereon to engage and hold the ring, the lock-bolt moving the catch device to release the ring following the engagement of the ring by the lock-bolt, an operating station remote from the mangers, and an operating rod connected t0 all the lock-bolts and extending to the operating station.

6. ln a barn having a plurality of mangers, a box-stall having a hinged door and a temporary fastener for the door, and an operating station, the combination of temporary hitching devices mounted movably on the mangers, lock-bolts mounted movably on the mangers, a latch mounted movably on the door, a loch-bolt mounted movably above the door for engaging the latch and permitting the latch to be disengaged therefrom, rings to be temporarily connected to the hitching devices and normally engaged by the lock-bolts, means for retracting the hitching devices from the rings when the lock-bolts are moved to normal positions to engage the rings, operating rods connected to the lock-bolts and connected together, operating connections eX- tending from one of the operating rods to the operating station to move the lock-bolts from normal positions, and a spring connected to another one of the rods to move the loch-bolts to normal positions.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

rHEoDoaE CHARLES HENRY wanen Witnesses:

E. T. SiLvrUs, E. L. SWIFT.

may temporarily hang on the catch-pins in such position that they shall permit the lockbolts 27 to advance through them. Then the lever 63 may be unlatched and will be moved over to its normal position by the action of the spring 69 which, as will be seen, will advance the loch-bolts 27 to normal position through the rings 31 and cause the catch-pins 2l to be retracted, the lock-bolts 39 engaging the latches 43 and slightly drawing the doors inward away from the buttons, so that the buttons will then fall away from the doors.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is-

l. A horse-holder and releaser including two xed apertured ears, an operating rod, a lock-bolt movable in the ears and having a shank that is secured to the rod, the lockbolt being capable of holding a hitching device removably between the two ears, and a catch-pin movable in one of the ears and projectable to temporarily engage the hitching device, the catch-pin being retractable by the lock-bolt to release the device to be held by the loc r-bolt.

2. A horse holder and releaser including an anchor-plate having a guide and two apertured ears thereon, a lock-bolt mounted movably in the ears, a ring normally hanging on the lock-bolt between the ears, an operating rod mounted in the guide and connected to the lock-bolt, and means for temporarily supporting the ring when released from the lock-bolt in position to be again engaged by the loch-bolt, said means being controlled by the lock-bolt.

3. A horse holder and releaser including an anchor-plate having two apertured ears thereon, one of the ears vhaving a guideway therein, a spring-arm mounted on the anchor-plate and having a catch-pin thereon that is projectable thereby through the guideway, a lock-bolt mounted movably in the ears and normally projected and engaging the spring-arm to retract the catchpin, means for moving the lock-bolt, and a ring to be engaged by the catch-pin and released therefrom and engaged by the lockbolt.

4. A multiple horse holder and releaser including a plurality of anchor-plates having each a plurality of apertured ears and also a guide thereon, a plurality of lockbolts, one for each anchor-plate and mounted 

